Automobile door lock



April 6, 1954 H. E. MESERVY AUTOMOBILE DOOR LOCK 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledMarch 21 1951 INVENTOR. E. Meservg Ana/mm.

April 6, 1954' H. E. MESERVY 2,674,482

AUTOMOBILE DOOR LOCK Filed March 21 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 JNVENTOR. HoWard 5 Meserc/z 76W Wu f W April 6, 1954 H. E. MESERVY 2,674,482AUTOMOBILE DOOR LOCK Filed March 21, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 J 2 9 IO i .14 F. 9 I v IN VEN TOR.

Hbward Maser 1/4 1 A 7 TORNEVJ.

Patented Apr. 6, 1954 t eir AUTOMOBILE DOOR LOCK Howard E. Meservy,

General Motors Cor corporation of Delaware Detroit, Mich, assignor toporation, Detroit, Mich, 21.

Application March 21, 1951, Serial No. 216,761

18 Claims. 1 This invention relates to an automobile door look.

It is old to lock an automobile door by disconnecting the outside handleor push button from the loci: bolt so that the handle or push button isineffective to retract the bolt, see Anderson-Bowlus 2,039,873.

It is also old to arrange an automobile door look so that locking of theoutside door handle also looks the inside door handle. This isparticularly desirable as a safety feature in the rear door locks of anautomobile where children are being transported. Thus, children areprevented from opening the doors and the dangers incident thereto, whilethe car is in motion, are avoided. It is quite essential from the safetystandpoint that in those cases Where the inside door handle is locked orrendered ineffective to retract the bolt, that it should be readily, andwith certainty, returned to unlocked or operative condition where itwill be eiiective to retract the latch bolt.

Some of the locks heretofore used which were arranged to lock the insidedoor handle or disconnect the same from the latch bolt were undesirablebecause under some conditions the lock would become jammed andthereafter the inside handle, and in many instances also the outsidedoor handle or push button, would be ineffective to retract the latchbolt. This undesirable jamming of the lock occurred in one known make oflock wherein the door was locked from within the automobile body bydisconnecting the inside handle from the bolt, when the inside handlewas held in bolt retracting position and simultaneously the garnishmolding push button was lifted in the attempt to again restore theconnection between the inside handle and the bolt.

It is an object of this invention to produce an automobile door loci: inwhich the door can be locked from the inside by disconnecting the insidehandle from the latch bolt and wherein the V inside door handle canagain be restored to operative position where it is effective to retractthe bolt with complete assurance and without jamming regardless of theconditions under which restoring of the connection between the insidehandle and lock bolt m attempted.

Fig. l is an elevation of the lock, which is the subject of thisinvention, as viewed from within the vehicle body.

Fig, 2 is a section along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section along the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Figs. 4 and 5 are elevational views similar to Fig. 1 and illustratingthe operation of the lock.

Figs. 6 and 7 are fragmentary elevations of the lower portion of thelook also illustrating its operation.

Fig. 8 is a section along the line 8-8 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 9 is a section along the line 9-43 of Fig. 8.

The present invention is concerned with that type of lock wherein thedoor is locked by disconmeeting the inner and outer bolt retractingmechanisms from the bolt. The basic structure of the lock shown in thedrawings is the same as that shown in the eopending application ofKenneth P. Smith, Serial No. 212,891, filed February 2'7, 1951.

As shown in Fig. 1, the various elements of the look are mounted upon alock frame or plate I. Frame I is mounted along the inner face of theinside door panel (not shown) and is provided with a portion 2 whichextends along the inner face of the door lock pillar (not shown). Theoverlap flange of the door is designated 3. A combination bolt housingand wedge member is fixed upon the frame portion 2. A bolt 5 is pivotedwithin housing l upon a stud 5 which is riveted to the frame portion 2(Fig. 8). Bolt 5 is provided with an offset extension or tail 5 which.is provided with a socket portion to positioned inwardly of the lockframe portion I. The bolt head is designated H and is adapted tointerengage with either the safety step 52 or the final step is of thelock keeper it which forms the lower member of the dovetail socket. Theupper member of the dovetail socket is designated I5 and is providedwith a conventional sliding shoe Iii backed up by a compression springll. Dovetail socket it, it will be mounted upon the body lock pillar(not shown). Lock frame portion I, Fig, 1, is positioned atapproximately right angles to frame portion 2.

For retracting bolt 5 there is provided a retraetor lever Iii pivotedupon frame I by means of a stud it which is riveted to frame I as at 29.Stud i ii is provided with a head 2! upon which is mounted a coil spring522. One arm 23 of the spring is interengaged with a lug 2t struck outof frame 2 and the other arm 25 of spring 22 is interengaged with a lug2S turned out of lever 18. Spring 22 at all times acts through lug 25 tobias or apply torque to lever H8 in a counterclockwise dircction, Fig.l. Lever H3 is provided with a pair of fingers 2"? which engage onopposite sides of bolt tail is and form a socket therefor. Spring itacts at all times through lever 68, fingers 2'! on bolt extension 9 tobias bolt 55 clockwise, or in a keeper engaging direction, as viewed inFig. '7. Lever it; can be actuated from within the vehicle by means of adraft link 28 which may be connected to any conventional inside remotecrank handle 8.

For retracting the bolt 5 from without the door there is provided achannel guide member provided with an arm 3I and pivoted upon the lockframe I by rivet 32. A tumbler 33 is pivoted upon channel guide 33 bymeans of pin 34. An intermittent lever 35 is pivoted to one arm oftumbler 33 by means of pin 36 and the other end 31 of intermittent lever35 pivotally interengages extension 9 in socket Id. The intermittentlever 35 is guided within the side walls of channel guide 30 by means ofbumps 38 so that intermittent lever 35 can slide longitudinally withinchannel guide 3!] and can also pivot or swivel with channel guide 38about rivet 32. Channel guide 30 can be pivoted about pin 32 from withinthe vehicle body by means of a control mechanism which includes acontrol lever 39 pivoted to frame I by rivet 4E! and pivotally connectedto arm 3i by rivet 4|. The outer end of lever 39 is pivotally connectedto a push and pull rod 43 by means of a bell crank lever 42 and link 44.The upper end of rod 43 projects through an opening in the garnishmolding 45 which extends around the window opening. An over-centerspring 46 acts upon lever 39 to yieldably hold it in either its unlockedposition, Fig. 1, or in its locked position, Fig. 4, that is, when thepush button Bil is raised, the lock is unlocked, and when it is lowered,the lock is locked.

A pawl 41 is journalled in the lock frame I and is operatively connectedwith channel guide 30 so that pawl 47 can be rotated in one direction toswing guide 30 and intermittent lever 35 to locked position, Fig. 4, orpawl 41 can be rotated in the opposite direction to swing guide 30 andintermittent lever 35 to unlocked position, Fig. 1. Pawl 41 can berotated from the outside of the door by means of a key acting through acombination torque rod and plunger (not shown) which can be pushedinwardly of the door to pivot tumbler 33 against spring 5| to therebyproject the intermittent lever 35 downwardly, as viewed in Fig. 1. Whenintermittent lever 35 is projected downwardly, the lower end 35 contactsthe tail 9 of the bolt in socket I0 and rotates the bolt 5counterclockwise, Fig. 8, to retract the bolt from its keeper. Acylinder lock push button and push rod for operating tumbler 33 form nopart of this invention and are shown in the copending application ofJames D. Leslie and Clyde H. Scharnel, Serial No. 788,534, filedNovember 28, 1947.

Intermittent lever 35 is provided with a cam projection 52 which extendsinwardly from lever 35 toward frame I. Flange 53 on tail 9 overlies thelower end 31 of lever 35. Spring 5I acts between tumbler 33 andintermittent lever 35 not only to hold intermittent lever 35 downwardlywithin channel guide 30 but also to yieldably bias or hold tumbler 33against pawl 41 and thus yieldably maintain lever 35 in retractedposition, Fig. 1. When lever 35 is in the position shown in Fig. 1,downward movement of lever 35 acts upon tail 9 of bolt 5 to retract thesame. Lever 35 is moved downwardly by pivoting tumbler 33 about itspivot 34 as above described. Thus, tumbler 33 and lever 35 are actuatedfrom outside the door for retracting the bolt. When lever 35 and guide3!] are shifted to the position shown in Fig. 4, then end 31 of lever 35is ofiset from, and rides by, socket ID on the bolt tail and thereforethe lever 35 is ineffective to retract the bolt, Fig. 4.

Retraction of the lock bolt from the inside of the door is effected byclockwise rotation of retractor lever I8, Fig. 1. Lever I8 is actuatedfrom within the body by means of inside door handle 8 in the form of acrank pivoted as at and connected by draft link 23 with an actuatorlever BI which is pivoted on stud I9, Fig. 2. The lower end of lever I8is provided with a radial slot 62 and the lower end of lever BI isprovided with a radial slot 63. Lever 6| pivots freely on stud I9independently of lever I8. Levers I8 and GI are arranged to be tied orclutched together to pivot as a unit and to this end there is provided aconnector link 64 having its lower end turned inwardly at a right angleas at toward frame I to form a key and then turned at a right angle asat 63 substantially parallel to plate I. When slots 62 and 53 coincide,then key portion 65 of link 64 can be drawn upwardly into said notchesto thereby lock or tie levers i8 and GI together so that they pivot as aunit. Thus, key 65 cooperates with slots I52 and 33 to provide a clutchbetween levers I8 and iii. The upper end 61 of link 64 is turnedinwardly toward frame I where it passes through an L-shaped slot 88 inlever 39 and then turned upwardly as at 69 between lever 39 and frame I.A coil spring In is mounted on pivot post iii and has one leg IIanchored in lug I2 on lever 39. The other leg I3 of spring 'H) isprovided with a hump l4 and a valley I5. Leg I3 is positioned beneathend 61 of link 64 and at all times biases link 64 upwardly, Fig. l.

The operation of the instant lock is as follows: In the dotted lineshowing, Fig. 1, link 64 is in raised position with its key portion 65looking levers SI and IS together and with its upper end 6? positionedin the end of slot 63 closest to pivot 4i With the link in thisposition, the inside handle 8 is effective to retract the bolt, that is.clockwise rotation of handle 8, Fig. 1, acts through draft link 28,lever GI, key 65 of link 54 and lever IE to retract the bolt. If thegarnish molding push button is moved downwardly into garnish molding 4-5to swing lever 39 counterclockwise from the position shown in Fig. 1 tothat shown in Fig. 4 with link 64 in the dotted line position Fig. 1,then intermittent lever 35 will be disconnected from socket E0 andineffective to retract the bolt as shown in Fig. 4, but the key 65 oflink 64 will still be positioned in both slots 62 and 63 (Fig. 7)thereby tying levers BI and I8 together and the bolt can be retractedfrom the inside of the automobile by rotation of inside handle 8. Thus,the outside bolt retracting mechanism, such as the outside push buttonor door handle, is ineffective to retract the bolt but the inside handle8 is effective to retract the bolt.

If it is desired to make the inside door handle 8 ineffective to retractthe bolt, this can be accomplished by withdrawing the key end 65 of link64 from slot 62 to thereby disengage levers BI and I8 so that rotationof lever 6| by handle 8 will not rotate lever I8. Preferably, as shownin the drawings, withdrawal of key 65 of link 64 from radial slot 62 iseffected simultaneously with the shifting of intermittent lever 35 fromoperative position, Fig. l, with link 64 in full line position toinoperative position, Fig. 4, where it is ineffective to retract thebolt.

To have push button 8!] look both the inside and outside bolt actuatingmechanism, the upper end of link 64, which is yieldably retained in theright hand end of slot 68 by the valley 15 of spring Hl, dotted lineshowing Fig. 1, is moved to the left over hump I4 to a point adjacentthe outer end of spring leg I3, full line showing Fig. 1, so

that end 61 is positioned at the corner 8| of the right angled slot oropening 68. In this position, full line showing Fig. 1, if the controlmechanism lever 39 is rotated counterclockwise by depressing push button80 downwardly, intermittent lever 35 will be swung to inoperativeposition where it is inefiective to retract the bolt, Fig. 4, andsimultaneously therewith link 54 will be moved downwardly so that key 65passes out of slot 62 thereby disengaging retractor lever it fromactuator lever 6|, Fig. l. Thus, by manipulation of push button 80, boththe inner and outside bolt operating mechanisms are rendered inefiectiveto retract the bolt. The position of upper end 51 of link 64 either tothe left of hump M or to the right of hump 14, full and dotted lineshowings Fig. 1, can be selected by the owner of the vehicle. Link 64can be shifted to its selected position by means of a instrument, suchas a screw-driver or wire with a hook on the end, which can be passedthrough an opening in the door lock pillar and engaged with link 64 tomove it to one or the other of its selected positions.

With link 64 shifted to the position shown in Fig. 1, full lines, whereboth the inside and outside bolt actuating mechanisms are locked (i. e.,arranged to freewheel) or unlocked simultaneously, it is impossible tojam the lock mechanism so that the bolt cannot be retracted by eitherthe inside door handle 3 or the outside push button or door handlethrough tumbler 33 and lever 35.

As shown in Fig. 4, both the outside mechanism and inside mechanism areineiTective to retract the bolt. If inside handle 8 is rotated to drawdraft link 28 to the left, then lever 6! simply freewheels relative tolever is and the bolt cannot be retracted by handle 8. The position ofactuator lever 6| when retracted is shown in the dotted lines Fig. (l,and if, While lever BI is retracted, button Si! is raised to restorelever 35 to effective position, then the key end 65 of link 64 simplyremains upon the lower edge 90 of lever l8 (the vertical leg 95 of slot63 and spring 73 provide a yieldable or lost motion connection betweenlink (54 and lever 39 and permit relative travel between lever 39 andupper end 6'! of link 64) and no jamming occurs (Fig. 5). If handle 8 isrestored to normal position (Fig. 1), then key 65 of link 64 rides alongedge 90 of lever 35 until end 65 reaches slot 62 (Fig. 6) whereuponspring 73 raises link 66 and key 65 into slot 52 thereby clutching ortying levers 6|, H3 together again (Fig. 1).

From the above it is evident that as long as link 64 is in the dottedline position Fig. 1, then operation of the control mechanism bydepressing garnish molding push button 8!! swings lever 35 to theineffective position and the outside handle or push button mechanism isineifective to retract the bolt whereas inside handle remains effectiveto retract the bolt. However, if link be is moved to the full lineposition Fig. 1, then depressing of the push button 83 simultaneouslyrenders not only the outside bolt retracting mechanism 33, 35ineffective but also disconnects actuator lever 5| from retractor leveris and renders the inside handle 8 ineffective to retract the bolt. Whenthe inside handle 3 is ineffective to retract the bolt then, even thoughthe inside handle is swung to bolt retracting position, push button 89can be raised to restore lever 35 to operative position (Fig. 1) andturning of handle 8 in a reverse direction will restore the connectionbetween levers GI and I8.

I claim:

1. In a door look, a bolt, a pivoted retractor for said bolt, a pivotedactuator for actuating said retractor to retract the bolt, a clutchbeween said actuator and retractor in the form of a slot in saidactuator and a slot in said retractor extending inwardly from theperiphery of said retractor toward its pivot, said actuator beingswingable to a position where one of said slots overlies the other, anda key shiftably positioned in the slot in said actuator forinterengaging the retractor and actuator in said slots when the slotscoincide, a control mechanism including a connection with said key andoperatable to disengage said key from the slot in said retractor wherebysaid actuator can pivot in a bolt retracting direction independently ofsaid retractor and offset the key from the slot in said retractor to aposition where it overlies the peripheral edge of said retractor, and ayieldable connection between the control mechanism and the key wherebythe control mechanism can be returned to its clutch engaging positionwhile the said peripheral edge of the retractor holds the key disengagedfrom the slot in the retractor whereby when the actuator is moved inbolt projecting direction the key upon reaching the slot in saidretractor is moved into said slot by said yieldable means to restore thedriving connection between the actuator and the retractor.

2. The door lock claimed in claim 1 wherein said retractor and actuatorare pivoted on a common axis and the slots in said retractor andactuator are positioned radially thereof.

3. The door lock defined in claim 2 wherein said peripheral edge of saidretractor forms a shoulder extending transversely from the open end ofthe slot in said retractor along which said key slides when the actuatoris moved in bolt retracting direction with the clutch disengaged, saidshoulder acting as a guide for guiding the key into the slot in theretractor when the actuator is moved in a bolt projecting directionafter the control mechanism has been restored to clutch engagingposition.

4. The door lock claimed in claim 3 wherein the retractor is pivotallyconnected to said bolt.

5. In a door look, a bolt, mechanism actuatable from outside the doorincluding a member which is bodily shiftable for retracting the bolt, apivotal support for said member whereby said member can be swung intoand out of operative relation with said bolt, mechanism actuatable fromthe inside of the door for retracting the bolt, a control mechanismactuatable to swing said pivotal support and bodily shiftable member toinoperative position and thereby render the outside mechanismineiiective to retract the bolt, said inside bolt retracting mechanismincluding a clutch and alost motion connection between said clutch andcontrol mechanism whereby said clutch is arranged to be disengaged bysaid control mechanism to render the inside mechanism ineifective toretract the bolt, said lost motion connection between said controlmechanism and clutch including a slot in said control mechanism inwhich. one end of the said connection is free to travel, and resilientmeans for biasing said connection toward one end of the slot whereby thecontrol mechanism can be actuated to restore the outside bolt retractingmechanism to operative position without reengaging the clutch in saidinside mechanism.

6. The door lock claimed in claim 5 wherein said resilient means isplaced under tension when port and bodily shiftable member toinoperative position and thereby render the outside mechanismineffective to retract the bolt, an inside retractor member actuatableto retract the bolt,

an actuator actuatable from inside the door for actuating said insideretractor to retract the bolt, means providing a clutch between saidinside retractor and inside actuator, a connector between said clutchand said control mechanism lever whereby the control mechanism isactuatable to simultaneously render the outside mechanism ineffective toretract the bolt and to disengage said clutch thereby rendering theinside actuator inefiective to actuate said bolt retractor, and meansproviding a lost motion connection between said connector and saidcontrol mechanism lever whereby the control mechanism can be actuated torestore the outside bolt retracting mechanism to operative positionwithout actuating said connector.

8. In a door look, a bolt mechanism actuatable from outside the doorincluding a member which is bodily shiftable for retracting the bolt, apivotal support for said member whereby said member can be swung intoand out of operative relation with said bolt, mechanism actuatable fromthe inside of the door for retracting the bolt, a control leveractuatable to swing said pivotal support and bodily shiftable member toinoperative position and thereby render the outside mechanismineffective to retract the bolt, said inside bolt retracting mechanismincluding a retractor lever for retracting the bolt and an actuatinglever for swinging said retractor lever, means forming a clutchproviding a driving connection between the bolt retracting lever and theactuating lever, a connector between said control lever and said clutchactuated by said control lever to disengage said clutch when the controllever is actuated to render the outside mechanism ineffective to retractthe bolt, said clutch means being in the iorm of cooperating slots insaid retractor and said actuating levers, said clutch means including akey carried by said connector for interengaging said retractor andactuator levers in said slots to thereby key the actuator and retractorlevers together.

9. The door lock defined in claim 8 including means forming a yieldableconnection between said control lever and connector whereby when thecontrol lever and connector are actuated to disengage said key from saidslots the control lever can be actuated to restore the outside boltretracting mechanism to operative position while the key is retained outof engagement with said slots.

10. The door lock claimed in claim 9 wherein said yieldable connectionacts to interengage the key in said. slots when the slots are placed incoinciding relationship one with the other.

11. The door lock defined in claim 10 wherein said retractor andactuating levers are pivoted upon a common axis and the slots arepositioned radially of said levers.

12. The door lock defined in-claim 11 wherein the retractor lever isprovided with a guiding edge leading to the slot in said lever wherebywhen the clutch is disengaged and the control lever actuated to restorethe outside bolt retracting mechanism to operative position thenactuation of the actuating lever in a bolt projecting direction willcause the key to ride along said guide surface and into said slots tointerengage the retractor and actuating levers.

13. The door lock defined in claim 12 wherein the bolt is a pivoted boltand the retractor lever is pivotally connected to said bolt.

14. In a door lock, a bolt, mechanism actuatable from outside the doorincluding a member which is bodily shiftable for retracting the bolt, apivotal support for said member whereby said member can be swung intoand out of operative relation with said bolt, mechanism actuatable frominside the door for retracting the bolt, a control lever actuatable toswing said pivotal support and bodily shiftable member to inoperativeposition and thereby render the outside mechanism ineffective to retractthe bolt, said inside bolt retracting mechanism including means forminga clutch arranged to be disengaged by said control lever to render theinside mechanism ineffective to retract the bolt, an L-shaped slot insaid control lever, a connector having one end engaging said lever insaid slot and shiftable in said slot and the other end connected to saidclutch, the one end of said connector being selectively positionable ineither of two positions in said slot, in the one position of theconnector wherein the end of the connector is positioned in the cornerof said L-shaped slot the control lever is effective to simultaneouslydisengage said clutch and render the outside bolt retracting mechanismineffective to retract the bolt and in the other position of saidconnector wherein the end of the connector is positioned in one leg ofthe L-shaped slot radially inwardly of its corner said control lever isineffective to disengage said clutch.

15. The door lock claimed in claim 14 including resilient means forholding the end of said connector in either of its selected positions insaid slot.

16. The door lock defined in claim 15 wherein the one leg of saidL-shaped slot cooperates with an end of said connector to form a lostmotion connection between the connector and control lever whereby thecontrol lever, when said connector is set in one of its pre-selectedpositions, can be pivoted to restore the outside bolt retractingmechanism to operative position without moving said connector.

17. In a door look, a bolt, a pivoted retractor for said bolt, a pivotedactuator for pivoting said retractor to retract the bolt, 2. slot insaid actuator and a slot in said retractor, said actuator and retractorbeing pivotable to a position in which said slots coincide, a controlmechanism including a pivoted lever having an L-shaped slot therein, ashiftable key adapted in one position to interengage said retractor andactuator in said slots and key said members together for pivoting inunison, a connector between said key 'and said control lever, a part ofsaid connector being adjustable in said L-shaped slot in the controllever, resilient means cooperating with said part of said connector foryieldably retaining said part in the corner of said L-shaped slotwhereby said key interengages said retractor and actuator for movementin unison when said control lever is in operative position and saidconnector withdrawing the key from on of said slots to disengage theactuator from the retractor when the control lever is swung toinoperative position, a shoulder on said retractor adjacent the slottherein with which said key interchanges when said actuator is swung tobolt retracting position with the key removed from the slot in saidretractor, the said part of said connector moving into one of the legsof said L-shaped slot when the control lever is returned to operativeposition with the key engaged with said shoulder thereby tensioning saidresilient means, said resilient means serving to move the key into theretractor when the slots in the retractor' and actuator are again placedin coincidental relation.

18. The combination defined in claim 17 including mechanism operatablefrom without the door for retracting the bolt, said outsid mechanismincluding a pivoted support pivotally connected to said control leverand a bodily shiftable member mounted on said pivoted support and bodilyshiftable when in operative position to retract said bolt, said controllever when swung to inoperative position serving to disengage saidbodily shiftable member from the bolt and. render the shifting of saidmember ineffective to retract the bolt.

References Cited in the file Of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 2,234,810 Simpson Mar. 11, 1941 2,249,018 Marple July 15, 19412,411,941 Smith Dec. 3, 1946 2,608,429 Wise Aug. 26, 1952

